KUALA LUMPUR: At least one million people are expected to visit museums around Malaysia this year following the reopening of the country’s borders in April, says the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac).
Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the influx of tourists is expected to generate around RM900,000 in revenue, adding that it would be channelled to the Department of Museums trust fund.
“Motac has launched the Tourism Recovery Framework Plan 2.0, a continuation of the Economic Stimulus Package, to facilitate the recovery of the tourism and cultural industry, in addition to giving incentives and assistance for Malaysians in the forms of discounts, vouchers and rebates to travel domestically.
"Additionally, the government is committed to increasing the number of skilled workers and products in the tourism sector by the drafting and implementation of both the National Tourism Plan 2020-2030 as well as the National Cultural Policy (Daken),” said Nancy said during her speech at the opening ceremony of the Textiles Motifs and Design Exhibition Thursday (July 7).
The ministry is also encouraging cross-sector collaboration through initiatives such as the Tourism, Culture and Arts Matching Grants programme.
“This programme is designed to not only help the current industry players but to also help to train future generations in their desired cultural sector.
“It will lead to a cycle of cultural conservation that ensures a sustainable economy for everyone involved,” she added.
The exhibition is open until Dec 31 at the Saindera Gallery, National Textile Museum here.
It consists of four segments that emphasise on 10 different elements of motifs from the world of traditional Malay textiles such as flora and fauna.
The exhibition involved a total of 156 traditional textile collections of which 91 were from the Department of Museums Malaysia and 65 were creative works submitted from UiTM Machang students.
